


'Twas The Case Before Christmas

by CJ_R



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Gen, Romantic Friendship, The Deckerstar Network's 2019 Secret Santa Gift Exchange, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21963970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_R/pseuds/CJ_R
Summary: While stuck working a case on Christmas Eve, Chloe receives a gift from Lucifer.
Relationships: Chloe Decker & Dan Espinoza, Chloe Decker & Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker & Mazikeen, Chloe Decker & Trixie Decker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 80





	'Twas The Case Before Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dossypet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dossypet/gifts).



“Detective, what _are_ you wearing?”

For any other woman under the sun, that question would have been an immediate invitation to no longer wear the garment in question. Chloe Decker, however, was made of stronger stuff, brushing her partner’s unconscious bedroom tone aside with a practiced sigh. “What do you mean?”

She ran her hands down her hips – she hadn’t worn this particular dress since the office Christmas party about six or seven years ago, but she was reasonably sure it still fit. Black, ankle length, spaghetti straps and a pretty sheen to the fabric that skimmed her body without clinging to every movement, it was a dress that she could work in. Which, given their particular case, was an important point.

Lucifer, dressed to the nines in a tux that, if it wasn’t bespoke, she would sign away half her paycheck, straightened his cufflinks with a sigh. “This is a holiday party for a criminal smuggler with delusions of grandeur, not your office holiday party at Red Lobster.” He shuddered with a flourish of his hands.

“There’s nothing wrong with the way I’m dressed. The idea is to blend in. Well,” she allowed, “for me to blend in. That might be asking too much of you.”

He smiled a little at that. “True enough. Still – a little black dress? I would have thought you’d have picked something a little less generic. Aren’t red and green the colors du jour of this century?”

She rolled her eyes at that. “I don’t think I own a green dress and I actually used to have a red lace dress that I could have worn.”

Lucifer’s eyebrows arched with interest. “Oh, really? What happened to it?”

She just sighed and picked up her clutch off her desk – a metallic, gold thing she’d picked up at some department store years ago and stuffed in the back of her closet until needed. “Trixie and Maze happened to it.”

Her partner chuckled. “Oh dear. I would normally be expecting a much more salacious story, except that your offspring is involved.”

“Don’t ask.” She flipped the clutch open and sighed. “Okay, tonight is reconnaissance only. Eyes and ears open. We just need to get probable cause for a search warrant, so for pity’s sake, please don’t antagonize anyone too badly. This should be so by the book that you could read it for a bedtime story.”

Lucifer took a step back in mock offense. “I never antagonize anybody.”

She snorted. “Uh huh.”

“I don’t! It wasn’t my fault that Mr. What’s-His-Face from Vancouver had three bits on the side and was pissed that none of them actually wanted him.”

Chloe groaned at the memory. “Perhaps not the best time to do your mojo.”

Lucifer held out a hand to motion her to precede him. “I solemnly promise that I will do nothing to make tonight eventful.”

She grinned and started to walk toward the stairs. “Is that my Christmas present?”

“Would you like it to be?” he teased. “I’ll admit, not what I planned on giving you, but I suppose I could return what I got you…”

She stopped on the first stair. “Lucifer, you didn’t!”

He just arched his brows at her and patted his breast pocket for a moment, before frowning. “Huh.”

It was Chloe’s turn to arch her brows. “Lucifer. Are you telling me you got me a present…and then lost it?”

“Of course not, Detective.” The frown continued to crinkle his nose as he reached into a different pocket. “Granted, it’s not much…”

“But I don’t have anything for you!” She began to flush slightly – given Lucifer’s rather acerbic comments about the entire holiday season, she hadn’t thought they were doing gifts. She started frantically trying to think of what she could get him…what do you get as a last-minute gift for your billionaire playboy partner?

“Oh, come now, Detective. The point of a gift isn’t the reciprocity. Isn’t that what I distinctly heard you telling your offspring just the other day?” He smirked at her.

“And just after that, you gave her an entire freakin’ lecture on how gift-giving has always involved reciprocity because it’s just another way of granting favors!” She glared at him…on the other hand, that little lecture had sent Trixie down a Wikipedia rabbit hole that had bought her a solid two hours of peace and quiet to get some chores done around the apartment.

“In this case, there is no reciprocity required, Detective.” His voice was warm, and he smiled. “Besides, you can wear it tonight.”

She groaned. Whatever he’d picked out was no doubt inappropriate and – “Oh, Lucifer!”

Lucifer grinned as she grabbed it from his hands. “You like it?”

“This is _perfect_!” Her fingers brushed over the black nylon, turning it over, looking at the various pockets and holders.

“I had to have it custom made, but see here?” He pointed. “You can put your badge there and a small, backup pistol with a single clip right here. And, since you’re wearing your utterly boring black dress, you’ll be able to let them search your bag if necessary and still have everything safely tucked away.” He smiled. “Just in case.”

Chloe tried her best to be stern while grinning. “In case, what?”

Lucifer smirked. “Oh, just in case you decide to get us into trouble.”

Trying to be stern was a losing battle, so she simply let herself smile while holding Lucifer’s shockingly thoughtful present. “This is amazing.” She headed back to her desk to retrieve her ankle pistol and badge from her clutch before hiking one leg up on her desk chair to fasten her new thigh holster in place.

“Would you like help putting it on?” Lucifer asked, his voice dropping into bedroom territory, deliberately looking at her through lowered lashes – or rather, at her thigh exposed by hiking up the skirt.

She just shot him a look. “Help doing a buckle? I don’t think so,” as she tugged it into place, putting her foot down, the heel gently clicking against the concrete and the dress falling into place. “Seriously, though, thank you.

Her partner’s eyes softened, and a tiny hint of embarrassment colored his expression. “I’m glad you liked it.” He straightened his shoulders. “After all, it was a choice between the holster and something to jazz up that outfit.”

Chloe picked up her clutch again. “I’m afraid to ask.”

He clucked his tongue gently. “Oh, Detective, surely you’re not questioning _my_ taste?”

“Your taste, no. Your sense of what’s appropriate?”

He shook his head at her. “Wait here – I’ll pull my car around and pick you up at the station door.”

She arched her brows. “I can walk to the garage, you know.”

“Of course you can,” he said gently, a wicked light dancing in his eyes. “But you really should start getting into character, you know. Put some of your old acting skills to use.”

“And what character am I playing?” She shifted her weight to one leg, feeling the comforting press of her badge against her thigh.

“Hmm. Perhaps not the wide-eyed ingenue.” He snapped his fingers, grinning. “Oh, wait, I know! What about the sophisticated femme fatale?!”

She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing out loud. “How about the experienced detective trying to keep her rookie partner from getting them both killed one day before her retirement?”

Lucifer made a face. “I thought you were trying to avoid trouble, Detective. Your character almost always dies in those movies and you made me promise not to do anything that would antagonize our host.”

“Just go get the car. I’m going to give Trixie a quick call goodnight.”

Chloe watched Lucifer smile at her before indulging in the tiny, guilty pleasure of watching him walk away from her. She pulled her phone out and dialed Trixie’s number. A Christmas Eve case was far from ideal, but Trixie had been excited at the prospect of staying up past bedtime to show Maze her favorite Christmas movies – and Dan was there to ensure that she ended up in bed before two in the morning.

Lucifer rummaged in his car, looking for the package that he was sure he’d put in his breast pocket. It wasn’t like there was all that much space for even a small package to get lost in… “Ah!” His fingers brushed a flat, velvet box that had fallen between the stick shift and the driver’s seat. He stood up and opened the box.

A necklace nestled against white velvet – a single sapphire, almost the same shade of blue as the Detective’s eyes and about the size of his thumbnail, set in platinum, with the barest sprinkle of tiny diamonds that flashed rainbow fire under the dim, fluorescent lights. He’d acquired the stone on a different trip to Earth, about four centuries ago, as an uncut curiosity.

“Well, Detective, I’m not quite sure what to do with this,” he said aloud to the empty garage. “You liked my gag gift enough that this feels like overkill.” He snapped the lid shut and slid it into the glove compartment. “On the other hand, nobody is going to notice what she’s wearing when they could be looking at her.” He smiled and straightened his cufflinks. “Or me.”

Only a few minutes later, he was pulling around the front of the station. The Detective was on her phone, eyes smudged gently with soft liner that made the fine color stand out like a beacon in the night, her jawline and delicate neck exposed by the sleek ponytail and her lips painted a soft pink. Utterly unremarkable in every individual particular, except that it was Chloe Decker.

Nothing about the Detective was unremarkable.

She slid into the seat next to him. “Okay, Lucifer is here, so I gotta go. Yes, I’ll be home tonight and ready to do presents with you and Daddy in the morning.” A pause. “Of course I will. I love you, monkey. Night.” She hung up the phone.

“Is your little urchin all tucked up in bed, dreaming of sugarplums or some other such nonsense?” he asked, amused as he pulled the car into city traffic.

“If by sugarplums you mean that she, Maze and Dan are marathoning Christmas themed horror movies, then yes.” Chloe shook her head. “They’re watching Black Christmas right now. Dan isn’t sure whether to be proud or horrified.”

He let out a bark of laughter. “Certainly less saccharine than most would have it this time of year.”

“Well, apparently Dan is lobbying for Nightmare before Christmas after the current movie is done.”

Lucifer shrugged, unfamiliar with the ins and outs of children’s movies, instead revving the engine as he merged them into the left most lane. “Well, then. Let’s go catch ourselves a killer!”

Chloe grinned at him from the passenger seat, one hand absently resting on her thigh, just above his gift.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this, especially Dossypet, who was my giftee for 2019's Deckerstar Network's Secret Santa gift exchange! Goodnight, 2019 and I'll see everyone in 2020, along with Season 5 of Lucifer!


End file.
